Vuelio

The Best 14 Bloggers in the UK

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The winners of the 2017 Vuelio Blog Awards were revealed at the Bloomsbury Big Top on Friday, 24 November.

Hundreds came together in the fabulous Bloomsbury Big Top to enjoy top entertainment, fire dancers, aerial silk artists, fine dining, the hilarious Ellie Taylor, and the company of the best bloggers in the UK right now! In their third year, the Vuelio Blog Awards continued to show why the UK blogging industry is the world’s best.

With Twitter trends made by guests using over 3GB of data a minute; hundreds of posts; thousands of likes, retweets and hearts; and millions of impressions – the Vuelio Blog Awards proved themselves, once again, as the must attend event of the year.

Congratulations to all of winners from the night:

Best Arts & Entertainment – sponsored by Splento
That Grape Juice

Best PR, Media and Communications Blog – sponsored by Access Intelligence
MK

Best Political Blog – sponsored by PLMR
Guido Fawkes

Best Fitness & Healthy Living Blog
Lunges and Lycra

Best Men’s Lifestyle Blog – sponsored by Jameson
Menswear Style

Best Women’s Lifestyle Blog
Lily Pebbles

Best Food & Drink Blog – sponsored by InterContinental London Park Lane
My Fussy Eater

Best Wedding Blog – sponsored by Sandals Resorts
Rock My Wedding

Best DIY & Interior Design Blog
Swoon Worthy

Best Beauty Blog – sponsored by PZ Cussons Beauty
A Model Recommends

Best Travel and Leisure Blog – Sponsored by Celebrity Cruises
Hand Luggage Only

Best Fashion Blog
Inthefrow

Best Parenting Blog – Sponsored by STAEDTLER
Toby & Roo

Best Newcomer Blog
Best Before End Date

And the overall prize, awarded to one category winner from the night who wowed the judges with his original content, professional blogging and unique proposition:

Best UK Blog 2017
Menswear Style

Congratulations to all of our winners, and look out for the official photos from the night which are being compiled as you read!

Here’s to 2018!

 

As always, the winners of the Vuelio Blog Awards are all listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database. 

Politics

Today’s Political Headlines – 23 November 2017

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including Hammond eases off austerity, a Budget that tries to fix the housing market and gloomy fiscal outlook.

Budget: ‘Hammond eases off austerity’
According to The Times, Philip Hammond used yesterday’s Budget as a ‘£25 billion giveaway’. The paper points out that the sums, including spending on housing, Brexit, and the NHS, only add up because of ‘accounting changes, stealth business taxes, optimistic estimates on tackling tax evasion and new sales of state-owned Royal Bank of Scotland shares’.

Budget: Hammond tries to fix the housing market
The Financial Times choses to focus on Hammond’s efforts to fix the housing market. He unveiled a £44bn package of investment, loans and guarantees, and aims to reach 300,000 homes being built in each year by the middle of the next decade. Other measures include cuts to stamp duty for first-time buyers. According to the paper, allies of Theresa May described Hammond as having done a ‘good job in difficult circumstances’.

Budget: Gloomy fiscal outlook
The Guardian alleges that Hammond’s new measures are an attempt to ‘mask Britain’s gloomy fiscal outlook’. The paper choses to highlight forecasts by the Office for Budget Responsibility which cut the UK’s growth rates in the years up to 2022 by a quarter, with unemployment growing. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said it was ‘a nothing-has-changed budget from an out-of-touch government with no idea of the reality of people’s lives and no plan to improve them’.

Budget: Tory Eurosceptics urge Hammond to spend Brexit cash
The Daily Telegraph reports that Conservative Eurosceptics are urging Philip Hammond to spend some of the £3 billion he set aside for Brexit preparations in the Budget immediately. Half the money is not planned to be spent until next year, whilst the rest will only be released in 2019-20 (after the UK has left the EU). David Jones MP argued that ‘We need to show the EU that preparations are being made and also need to give reassurance to business.’

Poll shows Tories four points ahead
The Daily Mail carries news of a new poll which shows that the Conservatives are four points ahead of Labour. The poll, carried out before the Budget, puts the Tories on 42% and labour on 38%. The paper places this in the context of the sex harassment scandal and the loss of two Cabinet ministers, suggesting that ‘Brits not stuck in the Westminster bubble have not paid much attention to these Tory travails.’

Remove abortion jail risk, medical professionals say
The Times has details of a campaign by the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health, whose council is expected to vote in favour of decriminalising abortion following a survey of the group’s members. It warns that the country is ‘reaching a crisis point in abortion provision’, with legal restrictions putting trainees off and inhibiting care.

Damian Green inquiry to finish ‘within days’
The Cabinet Office’s inquiry into allegations against First Secretary of State Damian Green is to finish ‘within days’, The Guardian says. This comes after a series of interviews over the claims that Green harassed a young Conservative activist and downloaded pornography to a work computer. Green denies both allegations

New rules on broadband advertisingMirror
The Daily Mail announces new rules on broadband advertising, drawn up by the Committee on Advertising Practice. Under current rules, firms can advertise speeds that only 10% of households can achieve. Under the new rules, advertised speeds must be attainable by 50% of customers at peak times. Digital Minister Matt Hancock said ‘We have been fighting for this for some time now, and it’s a great victory for consumers.’

Find out more about Vuelio political services?

2017 awards for bloggers

Your Guide to the Vuelio Blog Awards 2017

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The Vuelio Blog Awards are this Friday! Are you ready?

Here’s our handy guide to make sure you have everything you need to have the best night of your life*.

1. Confirm EVERYTHING

The blogger ballot has been announced with successful bloggers already confirmed in their hundreds. Have you confirmed your place? Have you confirmed your dietary requirements? If not, get in touch with Jake O’Neill who will be able to help (in between his screaming with excitement about how soon the Awards are).

2. Double check the time and location (and date!)

No one wants to turn up to the venue a week late). The event starts at 19.00, on 24 November, with a sparkling drinks reception – aim to be there when the doors open to maximise drinking time the excellent time you’ll have. And it’s at the Bloomsbury Big Top – you can see where that is right here. You get there by entering Coram’s Fields park, on Guilford Street opposite Guilford Place.

3. Find your fancy outfit

The dress code is black-tie and fancy – this is your chance to dress up to the nines and feel fabulous all night long**. What’s most important is that you’re comfortable and happy – we already know you’ll look great.

4. Get ready to make A LOT of friends

The UK blogging community is awesome and the bloggers are lovely but there are too few opportunities for bloggers to meet up in real life. The Vuelio Blog Awards is your chance to meet the face behind the name and mingle with the greats. Did we mention HUNDREDS of bloggers have confirmed their place to attend? Plus excellent sponsors to present the awards (it’s going to be huge!).

5. Bring some cash

Every guest will join us for a glass of something nice in the reception and then sit down for a three-course sumptuous meal including wine. That’s all yours and all included. But we know some of you have exotic tastes, so a fully stocked bar will be available for those that want a ‘sip’ of something extra.

ALSO

We don’t want anyone struggling to get home at the end of the night – while Bloomsbury is lovely, it’s a cold place to be stranded in the early hours of late November. Whether it’s a taxi, uber, tube, bus, Segway, pogo stick or hovercraft, make sure you have the means to get home and have planned your exit (with appropriate mic drop).

6. Use the hashtag

Tweeters at the ready – the hashtag is #VuelioBlogAwards and it’s the best way to get involved before, during and after the night.

7. Get in touch

If you need anything or have any questions about the night, get in touch. We’re a friendly bunch at Vuelio and want to do whatever we can to ensure you have a fantastic time!

 

Before you go, check out the video from last year and get ready for 2017 – which will be even bigger, better and blogging brilliant!

See you soon!

*Obviously this depends on the other nights you’ve had

** We cannot guarantee fabulousness after you’ve left the venue, or when you wake up the next day!!

 

NB: This post was updated on 22 November to reflect how close the event now is!

Laura Scott

Blogger Spotlight: Laura Scott, SheHearts

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Laura Scott is the blogger behind SheHearts, a luxury lifestyle blog that specialises in beauty, fashion, travel and food. Laura showcases handpicked favourites from each sector with in-depth reviews and quality photography. We spoke to Laura about how her experience as a social media consultant helps with her blog, excellent collaborations she’s worked on and  the importance of Twitter.

Why did you start your blog?
SheHearts started due to my sheer passion for all things beauty, fashion, travel and food combined with my love of photography and creative writing. I brought my interests together along with my professional skill set to ensure that readers came away feeling both visually and editorially inspired.

Another reason is that I simply love helping others when it comes to helping choose places to travel, beauty products to try, and restaurants to enjoy.

Professionally I work as a social media consultant and I’m also a certified photographer, fashion stylist and marketer, so my professional skill set benefits the quality of my blog and brands that I work for.

Can you tell us about your social media consulting?
I have over twelve years’ experience in social media consultancy and it’s something I’m very passionate about. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some truly wonderful brands such as NIVEA UK while they sponsored The Voice on ITV, Monsoon and Accessorise, Celebrity hairdresser Stuart Phillips, and many others.

I love helping brands create personalised strategies to boost their social media performance, and just like SheHearts, everything I do is highly personalised. I always ensure I help brands create unique and personalised social media strategies to help maximise their brand’s online voice.

Want to work with influencers? Try the Vuelio Media Database and get access to 11,000 UK Bloggers in beauty, fashion, travel, food & more.

Get in touch

Which social platforms are most important for your blog?
Before starting my blog, I started off on Twitter which is something that’s incredibly important to my blog. Social media is all about engagement and developing relationships online; I love the people I have met and friendships developed through Twitter and also through my blog.  Twitter is my favourite social media platform in general because it’s so simple to use and an effective way to continually engage on a daily basis, I love it.

Instagram is also important especially for travel photography, I love showcasing images of beautiful places I visit.

SheHeartsWhat advice would you give other bloggers looking to be successful on social media?
To simply be yourself, talk about things you personally love and engage with your following. Develop relationships with others and always be genuine. Kindness is something which is incredibly important when it comes to social media.

Remember your blog is your brand, it’s so important to be yourself and be passionate about what you talk about. It’s important to start a blog out of sheer passion and enthusiasm.

You cover a diverse range of content, is it a challenge combining it all?
Not at all, the topics I cover all tie in nicely together underneath the same bracket: a luxury lifestyle.

Approaching things from a generalised luxury lifestyle perspective gives SheHearts readers a variety of things to choose from whenever they visit; I like a slight element of surprise too and creating posts which are slightly different.

How do you like to work with brands and PRs?
Developing relationships with brands and PRS is so important to me, I’ve worked in PR before and I’ve had the pleasure of working with bloggers before I became a blogger myself, so I understand the importance of brand/blogger relationship.

Relationship is the key word here, when working with a brand you feel passionate about, it benefits both brand and blogger, the pieces you create are always passionate.

It’s great to create a personalised piece between brand, PR and blogger to create something unique. That’s something I particularly enjoy so that it benefits both, that’s the beauty of a successful collaboration.

What one thing should brands and PRs know about you?
Delivering high quality content for brands I work for is incredibly important to me. Ensuring I deliver high quality photographic imagery and engaging editorial are aspects I always ensure to deliver when it comes to collaborative project.

Engagement is also something I really enjoy and generating conversation with my readers, bringing them great content excites me and it brings me joy when others enjoy the features that I create for them.

Can you give an example of an excellent collaboration? What made it so good?
There are a few favourite collaborations across my different specialist areas:

Fashion – I always enjoy collaborating with luxury international designer Omar Mansoor; he’s showcased at London Fashion Week International several times and I’ve had the pleasure of showcasing some of his samples straight from the catwalk and onto SheHearts. Interviewing Omar on my blog has allowed me to give features a personalised touch, and allows me and my readers to really get to know him as a designer.

Beauty – One of my favourite beauty collaborations has been with the Charlotte Tilbury team. The brand is very close to my heart as I hired a pro-artist from the Tilbury team to do my wedding day makeup last year, so showcasing her beautiful products on SheHearts really was extra special. Recently I showcased some of my favourite picks from the brand and also products I used on my wedding day. The collaboration was a success as the brand truly understood my vision for the feature and passion for photographic.

Travel – One of my travel highlights this year was a stay at the Abadia Retuerta Le Domaine, a five-star hotel in a restored 12th-century abbey tucked away in the city of Valladolid, Spain. The hospitality during our stay made this such a positive press experience.

Food – Collaborating with The Ritz London was a favourite foodie feature of 2017. The entire experience was incredibly personalised. We enjoyed a VIP tour around The Ritz exploring their private rooms which really was such a pleasure and, of course, enjoying their cocktails and moreish canapés!

What other blogs do you read?
I read a variety of different blogs, one of my favourite lifestyle blogs is A Glass of Ice run by Gabrielle who is also a great friend of mine. We have similar interests and both share a love of photography, fashion, beauty and chocolate! Another blog I enjoy reading is The Style Contour for fashion and great styling tips. For beauty I absolutely adore Kandee Johnson‘s YouTube channel and Lisa Eldridge‘s tutorials. There are just so many!

 

Laura Scott and SheHearts are just two listings on the Vuelio Influencer Database, which is the UK’s leading influencer database available to the PR and communications industries.

Politics

Today’s Political Headlines – 22 November 2017

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including the big Budget day stories, Brexit divorce agreement deadline and Kezia Dugdale on ‘I’m a Celebrity’. 

Budget: Last minute briefing as Downing Street takes control
This morning’s Daily Telegraph reports that 10 Downing Street took control of a last minute Budget briefing, as it is worried that the statement will ‘fall flat’. The paper quotes a Cabinet source who described it as ‘the worst Budget build-up in history’, as the Treasury first issued an ‘uninspiring’ statement and claimed that no policy announcements would be made, before performing a U-turn over two hours later. According to The Sun, May cannot sack Philip Hammond as Chancellor as ‘she fears she is too weak’.

Budget: More funding for schools and house-building measures
The Times reports that schools are to be paid £600 for each extra pupil they persuade to sits Maths A-level, with teachers in poorly-performing areas to benefit from £1,000 career development grants. The paper also expects measures to increase house-building, including direct state intervention (including a land-buying programme) and loosened borrowing restrictions for councils.

Budget: Veterans to get funding from LIBOR fines
In an exclusive, The Sun says that the Chancellor is to announce that veterans will benefit from £4.5m of fines from bankers as a result of the LIBOR scandal. £1.5m will be allocated to fund a new support programme by the charity Help For Heroes, whilst the Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research will be given £2.95m. In total, over £30m in funding from the fines will be allocated today.

EU and UK aim to reach Brexit divorce deal within three weeks
The UK and the EU are aiming to reach a Brexit divorce deal within three weeks, according to the Financial Times. Negotiators have apparently pencilled in the week of December 4 as a breakthrough moment, with senior EU diplomats suggesting that there is ‘now a better than even chance of agreement’ on ‘sufficient progress’ at the EU summit in December.

Kezia Dugdale avoids ‘I’m a Celebrity’ suspension
Former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has avoided being suspended by her party, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph. The party’s MSP group ruled that Dugdale would not be suspended despite taking ‘an unauthorised leave of absence’ to appear on the TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and would instead be interviewed on her return.

Hinkley Point power station deal to hit poorest hardest, report says
The Guardian carries details of a report by the Public Accounts Committee, which has found that the price the Government has promised to pay for power from the new Hinckley Point C power station will add £10-15 to the average household energy bill, hitting the poorest households the hardest.

Brexit rebels force Government climbdown
The Times reports on the progress of the EU Withdrawal Bill through Parliament yesterday. Conservative rebels, led by Dominic Grieve, forced the Government to announce that it would attempt to find a compromise on plans to remove the right of citizens to sue the Government, and on protecting citizens’ rights outlined in the EU’s charter of fundamental rights.

Conservative claims over police budget protection ‘a lie’ says Mirror
The Mirror claims that Theresa May’s boast that the Government had ‘protected’ police budgets is ‘a lie’. It reports research by the House of Commons showing a £413m cut in police force funding. Labour’s Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh said the cuts were ‘a threat to public safety’, whilst the Government did not deny the accuracy of the figures.

 

Find out more about Vuelio political services?

creative food

Blogger Spotlight: Grace Hall, Eats Amazing

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Grace Hall is the author of Eats Amazing, a food blog focused on making healthy food fun for kids. With a special knack for getting kids to eat their greens (along with other fruit and veg), Eats Amazing was recently ranked in the Top 10 Food Blogs. We spoke to Grace about creative lunch boxes, mum being the best cook and working creatively with brands like Disney.

How would you describe your blog?
Eats Amazing is all about making food fun for children. Whether it be fun food craft tutorials or easy recipes that children can cook themselves, I create ideas for getting kids and parents engaged with and excited about making and eating healthy foods (with a few treats thrown in too!).

Why did you start your blog?
I originally started Eats Amazing when my oldest son started school as a place to share and record the creative bento style lunches that I was packing for him each day. I was excited about this new way of packing lunches and wanted to share my experiences. Over the years the blog has evolved a lot and although I do still share plenty of advice and inspiration for packing lunches, it’s now the place to go for easy fun food tutorials, totally doable food art and family friendly recipes.

What are the latest trends in food and cooking we should know about?
I don’t tend to keep up very well with what’s trendy to be honest, if it looks fun, I’m usually willing to give it a try, but I’ve never been one to follow the crowd. Having said that, it’s been all about the rainbows and unicorns on the fun food scene this year and I’ve enjoyed creating some really fun recipes inspired by those themes, so I look forward to seeing what 2018 holds!

What will the next big thing be?
I’ve noticed a lot of alternative foods appearing in the news this year, like edible insects, seaweed pasta and lab-grown meat substitutes. People are looking for more sustainable food sources and I think it’s going to force us all to be a bit more adventurous and step outside the box when it comes to our food.

What and where was the best meal you’ve ever had?
Though I love eating out, nothing beats a meal cooked by my mum! I grew up in a busy household as one of seven children but she still managed to create amazing home-cooked meals that we sat down and ate together every day of the week. Our family Christmas dinner has got to be the highlight, it gets better every year!

What’s your favourite ingredient to cook with?
It only takes a quick look at my blog to spot my favourite ingredient – edible candy eyes! Not the most serious of ingredients, but a couple of googly eyes can make anything fun!

bento box for kids

How do you like to work with PRs?
My favourite campaigns are those when I have a lot of creative control so that the branded content fits in perfectly with my usual style. Several of the most popular posts on the Eats Amazing blog were created for brand campaigns – provide me with the inspiration and I’ll run with it!

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I am quite selective in who I choose to work with, only promoting companies that I feel I can truly recommend to my readers. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist so when I do collaborate with brands I make every effort to create the very best content possible for each campaign.

Do you have an example of a great campaign or collaboration you’ve worked on?
One of my favourite campaigns this year was a collaboration with DisneyLife – I created five different family picnics, each themed around a different Disney film, then worked with the PR team to film video tutorials for them all. It was an intense campaign with a lot of hard work all round but I loved every minute of it!

What other blogs do you read?
I love the community to be found around blogging and like to dip into lot of parenting, craft and of course food blogs. My favourite blogs are My Fussy Eater, A Mummy Too, Charlotte’s Lively Kitchen and Le Coin De Mel. They all create fantastic family friendly recipes and showcase them with gorgeous photography in their own individual styles.

 

Grace Hall and Eats Amazing are both listings on the Vuelio Influencer Database, which is the UK’s leading influencer database available to the PR and communications industries.

Politics on Sunday – 19 November 2017

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Missed any of the political coverage from the weekend?

Sunday’s political shows were dominated by two things: the Budget and Brexit. Phillip Hammond appeared on both the Andrew Marr show and Peston on Sunday to lay the groundwork for Wednesday’s announcements, however he managed to dominate headlines after claiming that ‘there are no unemployed people’. Meanwhile Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was forced to defend Labour’s nationalisation plans on the Marr show, failing to give a figure when pressed on how much they would cost.

On BBC’s Sunday Politics, Jacob Rees-Mogg made an appearance to defend the UK’s negotiating position in the Brexit talks, and to present his ‘alternative budget’ for the Chancellor. Brexit sceptic Conservative MP Dominic Grieve, who was labelled a ‘mutineer’ this week, discussed his efforts to improve the EU Withdrawal Bill, with John Pienaar, and suggested that some of his colleagues in the Conservative party may have become ‘unhinged’ in the fervour of Brexit.

Check out our dedicated Canvas of political coverage by clicking here or on the image below. Want to make your own canvas? Find out how. 

Politics on Sunday

stressed man

5 PR mistakes to avoid when sending a press release

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Press releases are still a fundamental cornerstone of the PR industry, and while social, digital, events and meetings may yield strong results, the humble press release is here to stay.

PR pros are generally well-practised in the art of sending a press release but there are still common mistakes that can easily be avoided.

1. Don’t be generic
Journalists, editors, bloggers and influencers are already receiving an ocean of content from brands and agencies looking to secure coverage. On top of this, they’ve got their own story agenda – few professionals are just waiting for the next great press release to land on their lap. As such, good content needs to be original, unique and ideally include strong research – at the end of the day people want to read interesting stories and the latest iteration of your office move might not cut the mustard. Your company excels at something, otherwise it wouldn’t be an operating business; tell that story and coverage will come.

2. Don’t forget to know your targets
This ties in with our first point – you need to know your contacts before you send, or your press release will be from a stranger. Good media relations start with knowing your target audience and the right influencers to reach them. The Vuelio Media Database lists thousands of contacts across thousands of outlets and includes detailed bios and content topics. Find the right people, give them a call to introduce yourself or, better still, take them out for a coffee (when they’re available) so in future it’s not a stranger pitching to them, it’s a friend.

3. Don’t forget to proof
Any media contact worth their salt will rewrite your press release, use your comments as just part of a feature or expand in their own ways. That said, if your press release has spelling mistakes, uses poor grammar or is just full of unreadable jargon, you may put your journalist contacts off before you’ve started. Keep it simple, and before you send it: proof, proof, proof.

4. Don’t fail to follow up
This doesn’t mean you should call up seconds after pushing ‘Send’ and lead with: ‘Hi there, I’ve just sent a press release…’

Make sure you’re monitoring the content with Vuelio Media Monitoring. That way, if the story is used online, in print or even broadcast, you’ll be able to track all of that coverage in one place. And, if a journalist uses your press release, send them a little note to thank them for the coverage – that lets them know you’re reading their content and also available to help with future stories. And if you’re working on a paid-for campaign with bloggers and influencers, you can ask for metrics to help measure the success of the campaign – work with the bloggers to get your results.

5. Don’t be sales heavy
Your ‘amazing product’ or ‘innovative solution’ is not what a journalist wants to print. The more salesy the press release, the more it will put off a journalist who is looking for a great story for their readers, rather than an advert for your buyers. While a journalist will probably just take these terms out, having too many in will make the whole thing seem like an advert and the journalist could skip it altogether. If you don’t have anything but sales content, then it’s not a press release.

 

What top tips would you give someone for a perfect press release? Let us know in the comments below:

Greggs sausage roll

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 17 November 2017

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This week’s Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed includes Greggs’ sausage roll, Josh Rivers being sacked by Gay Times, Twitter’s verification ticks, Russian troll farms and ONLY ONE WEEK TO GO UNTIL THE VUELIO BLOG AWARDS!

 

1. Greggs and the sausage roll

Sausage rolls greggs
Greggs has apologised this week after posting an image of the three wise men gathered round a manger containing a sausage roll, rather than Jesus Christ. The image, which sparked outrage among Christians online, was made to promote a £24 advent calendar from the bakery, which has a different voucher to spend in store behind each day’s window. While the firm has apologised for causing offence, the story has garnered a lot of coverage for Greggs and its advent calendar, perhaps suggesting there is no such thing as bad publicity.

 

2. Josh Rivers fired from Gay Times

Josh Rivers fired

An investigation by BuzzFeed into Josh Rivers, who was recently appointed editor at Gay Times, found dozens of offensive tweets sent by Rivers between 2010 and 2015. They included ableist, racist, transphobic, anti-Semitic and misogynistic comments, and BuzzFeed read them all to Rivers in an interview. Rivers was shocked and appalled at his own tweets, saying he was a ‘lost’ and ‘angry’ person when he wrote the remarks.

After initially suspending Rivers to investigate, Gay Times – which had claimed Rivers’ appointment would best serve the magazine’s diverse and culturally inquisitive audience – fired Rivers yesterday. It has also removed all of Rivers’ articles from the site.

 

3. Twitter strips verification from alt-right

Twitter verified blue tick

The Twitter blue tick, which was once the mark of a celebrity mysteriously hand-picked by Twitter, has in recent times become more accessible – with anyone able to achieve verification for meeting a few simple criteria. But now Twitter has changed its rules and removed the blue-tick from some high-profile far right and alt right users. American white supremacist Richard Spencer and English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson are two such figures to lose their verified status.

Twitter acknowledged that the system, which was supposed authenticate and identify a voice in an age of FAKE NEWS, has recently been seen as Twitter endorsing certain figures that it in no way intended. It is currently working on a new system for verification.

 

4. Government urged to investigate Russian ‘troll farms’

Russia

New research has suggesting that Russian troll farms – allegedly social media bot accounts that focus on a particular topic to influence it – may have been active during Brexit. While the actual numbers of accounts are low, and the genuine power of these accounts and methods questionable, Theresa May has announced that the Intelligence and Security Committee will re-form and investigate imminently.

Russia’s role in Western democracy was also attacked by Theresa May this week at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet. She accused Russia of direct meddling and weaponizing information. The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back, bizarrely hoping Theresa May will one day drink Crimean Massandra wine.

 

5. ONE WEEK TO GO – VUELIO BLOG AWARDS

2017 awards for bloggers

The third annual Vuelio Blog Awards takes places in one week’s time! All tickets have been sent out, the goodies are being prepared for the goodie bags and we’re getting ready for the greatest night of the year!

Taking place at the Bloomsbury Big Top on 24 November, the Vuelio Blog Awards will celebrate 15 outstanding winners on a night when hundreds of bloggers come together, along with PR and communications professionals, for fun, food and frolics.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments below! 

Russia

Government urged to investigate Russian troll farms

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As claims of Russian interference in the Brexit vote mount, Parliament’s powerful Intelligence and Security Committee is being urged to explore the role that Russian based ‘troll farms’ played on Twitter during the referendum. Theresa May has faced calls from across Parliament to up the UK’s response to these claims, and announced during Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions that the Committee would re-form imminently.

If a Committee investigation does go ahead, it will signify a marked shift in response from the UK, which has so far seen Theresa May and Boris Johnson stress that, while Russian interference takes place, it has not extended to Brexit.

That viewpoint is at odds with research from the University of Edinburgh, which has brought these concerns to the surface once again. The research identified a number of bot accounts operating from the Kremlin-linked Russian Internet Research Agency, tweeting about Brexit during and after the referendum.

While Brexit is undoubtedly a foreign policy win for the Kremlin – leaving the EU with a less cohesive Russian policy and a disruptive period of negotiations to distract member states – there is currently no conclusive evidence that these troll farms had an impact.

Professor Laura Cram, director of neuro-politics research at the University of Edinburgh, has urged caution over assuming the reach of their findings, given the relatively small number of accounts and that the majority of tweets were sent after the vote had taken place.

These points considered, the impact of Russian accounts may not be quite so far reaching as policy makers fear, although they nonetheless play a part in the wider debate about bots and political campaigns. For her part, the Prime Minister may be hoping that any Committee investigation does not require the Government to break from its policy of cautious engagement with the Kremlin, at a time when the UK is trying to build as many bridges as possible.

Binny Shah

Blogger Spotlight: Binny Shah, Binny’s Kitchen and Travel Diaries

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Binny Shah is the author of Binny’s Kitchen and Travel Diaries, a blog in which she shares recipes for dishes she loves and restaurants she’s tried. She also travels and writes about the destinations she visits and reviews hotels around the world. We spoke to Binny about getting out of your comfort zone, PRs appreciating quality and the best meal she’s ever had.

How would you describe your blog?
I am a writer, dreamer, serial wanderluster and travel addict and my blog captures my passion for food and memorable travel experiences.

Why did you start your blog?
I was always being asked by friends and family for tips on where to go and which restaurants to eat at, so it made sense to put them all online on one platform. I’ve always had a passion for writing and Binny’s Kitchen and Travel Diaries launched as a creative outlet where I could share my recipes and document my adventures, both in London and internationally, covering events, restaurants, hotels and destinations I have been to.

It’s also like a digital diary for me and I love reading back on some of my earlier posts from time to time and reliving the memories and experiences.

What’s the best thing about being a blogger?
What I love most about blogging is that it has really enabled me to move out of my comfort zone, meet amazing people, make some brilliant friendships and the blogging community is simply amazing. I hope that in five years’ time my blog has made a valuable contribution to the blogosphere and that it continues to inspire people to move out of their comfort zones and to travel off the beaten track and try new things.

What’s your favourite place to travel to?
As I was born in Kenya, it continues to be my favourite destination to travel to and I love discovering new places and sights every time I travel home. I also love exploring Italy and Spain.

Where haven’t you been yet that you’d like to visit?
The destinations at the top of my wish list are Tahiti, Fiji, Anguilla and Santorini.

Want to work with influencers? Try the Vuelio Media Database and get access to 11,000 UK Bloggers in food, travel, lifestyle & more.

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What and where was the best meal you’ve ever had?
The best meal I ever had was a BBQ on top of a Catamaran in Mauritius. It was surreal! I also love the Butter Chicken at Jamavar in London, which was recently awarded a Michelin Star. Whenever I am craving Indian food it is 99.9% of time that particular dish.

What makes your blog successful?
I think the key to a successful blog is to be consistent, committed and dedicated to it. It is also wise not to compare yourself to others unless it is to inspire, and to focus solely on growing and improving your blog, finessing your writing style and loving what you do. Personally, I try to blog at least four to five times a week and I have focused on improving my photography as well, which has motivated me to blog and share my experiences even more. I think dedication, commitment and self-focus are the most important factors.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I like to establish ongoing relationships with PRs and agreeing upfront what expectations are from both parties every single time. I have been really lucky to have worked with some amazing PRs and I like the fact that PRs are becoming more switched on to quality rather than quantity when it comes to aspects such as follower numbers, content engagement and reliability. I like it when PRs actually read your blog too and so know what kind of content you enjoy collaborating on. I keep in touch regularly with my PR contacts to always keep on top of what is new or coming up in the pipeline.

What one thing should PRs know about you?
I love travel, taking my own photos and I don’t accept infographics on my site.

What other blogs do you read?
My favourite blogs to read are SilverSpoon London, Fresh and Fearless, Follow Your Sunshine, Adventures of a London Kiwi and The ZRW.

Binny Shah and her blog Binny’s Kitchen and Travel Diaries are both listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database, which is the UK’s leading influencer database available to the PR and communications industries.

UK Government

PMQs: Theresa May’s word cloud – 15 November 2017

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This week’s PMQs was dominated by funding issues across the police, NHS and fire service, as well as crime stats and universal credit. We present the word cloud for Theresa May’s answers at PMQs on 15 November 2017.

Word cloud

Funding
With Budget day on the horizon, it’s unsurprising that funding played a major role this week. May fielded questions about schools, the NHS, police and firefighters from MPs hoping for a say in next week’s announcements, as well as Carolyn Harris, who asked the Chancellor to legislate for a Children’s Funeral Fund.

Crime
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn clashed over police funding and crime stats, with the latter arguing that funding was down and crime had gone up. May disagreed, saying crime was down by almost a third.

Universal credit
Universal Credit has become a weekly topic at PMQs, and this week was no exception. There were calls to halt the reforms from Jeremy Corbyn, Stephen Lloyd and Tracey Brabin, ahead of a Commons debate on the roll-out tomorrow.

Europe
May is facing rebellion over the EU withdrawal bill, which began its journey through committee stage yesterday, and today she answered questions from Michael Tomlinson, Paul Masterton and Charlie Elphicke on the impact of Brexit.

Schools
Corbyn asked for assurances that school funding cuts would be reversed, after 5,000 head teachers wrote to the Chancellor with a request for more resources. According to May, there are record levels of funding going into schools and a fairer funding system.

Bored of Diversity?

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A new social media campaign has launched with the aim of raising awareness around diversity in the PR and communications industry.

Following comments in M&C Saatchi’s group chief creative officer Justin Tindall’s Private View that he’s, ‘Bored of diversity being prioritised over talent’, the Taylor Bennett Foundation has launched a new campaign to hit back.

Tindall later apologised for expressing the view in an unintentionally divisive way.

The Taylor Bennett Foundation, a PR traineeship programme aimed at increasing diversity in the communications industry, has used the increased focus on diversity released a social media campaign titled ‘Bored of diversity?’. This is led by a video on social media, which you can watch here:

The video features Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) PR professionals sharing what makes them bored as ethnic minorities working in the industry. While the conversation around diversity is being held in the industry, it is often not followed up with much-needed action.

The video made its debut last night at the Foundation’s 10-year anniversary celebration, held at Edelman’s UK headquarters.

Sarah Stimson, chief executive of the Taylor Bennett Foundation, said: ‘We are delighted that our current PR Trainees put this campaign together to tackle, what they felt to be, the industry’s inadequate response to the lack of diversity. There is no room to bored of diversity – there is still such a long way to go to make the PR industry truly diverse.’

John Lehal, CEO of Public Affairs at Four Communications and vice chair of the Foundation, features in the video. He said: ‘For too long, the communications industry has failed to reflect our society, and the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce has not been a priority.  I empathise with many of the sentiments expressed by the BAME practitioners in this video. That is why supporting the Taylor Bennett Foundation in nurturing future industry leaders is vital for the communications, PR and Public Affairs industry.

‘Like any charity, core funding and donations are essential to sustaining the successes of the organisation, and I urge companies and individuals to support the Taylor Bennett Foundation.’

The social media awareness campaign doubles up as a fundraising effort to raise £50,000 for the Foundation in order to continue supporting BAME graduates hoping to pursue a career in PR and communications.

The video also aims to expand on the conversation of diversity in the industry to include the wider BAME community, encouraging and enabling them to share their own experiences and thoughts on the issues.

The Money Principle

Blogger Spotlight: Maria Nedeva, The Money Principle

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Maria Nedeva created The Money Principle, a blog that aims to help its audience get out of money trouble and build wealth. The blog recently featured on the Top 10 UK personal Finance Blogs. We spoke to Maria about building wealth, the effects of Brexit, her rules for financial health and how she is direct with brands.

How would you describe your blog?
The Money Principle is a blog that helps people leave their money troubles behind by taking them from ‘no money at all’ to ‘building sustainable wealth’.

Why did you start your blog?
I was in financial trouble myself; more specifically, £100,000 worth of consumer debt. Through learning about money and doing, we flipped out finances – in five years we went from £100,000 of consumer debt to £100,000 new investments. We didn’t stop there either.

I started The Money Principle to share what I learned and to support others on their way to financial health and wealth.

What’s the biggest issue facing personal finance today?
I believe that one of the biggest issues in personal finance today, and one that I’m very interested in, is about women and investing. All research shows that women do well when investing but very few of us invest. This is a problem at a time when the future of the state pension is uncertain, more women are on their own and we live longer.

I also believe that this matter is not going to be solved by education. Knowledge can get you far only after the fear and motivation have been taken care of.

How do you think Brexit, once enacted, will affect our finances in the UK?
Ha! This is a good one.

I think that we’ll have a very hard decade or so (and this is optimistic). Brexit will negatively affect our finances in variety of ways including:

  • low pound
  • consequently, all imported goods will be more expensive
  • this will be bad with food (or we can revert to eating mainly root vegetables)
  • inequality in the UK will increase (and poverty as well)
  • crime will rise with it (beyond a level of poverty opportunistic crime rises)
  • education and health will be (predominantly) private and costly
  • we’ll experience labour market gaps (jobs for which our people are either over- or under-qualified)
  • weaker pension funds will fail

This is one of the cases where I really hope that I’m wrong. Getting out of profound economic, social and identity crises is very hard work.

Want to work with influencers? Try the Vuelio Media Database and get access to 11,000 UK Bloggers in finance, business, lifestyle & more.

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What piece of advice would you give a young adult in relation to how they manage their money?
Here are The Money Principle rules for financial health:

  • Make sure you don’t waste and remember that frugality is over-rated
  • Pay off all debt before you are in your mid-30s (probably except your mortgage)
  • Earning more is very easy: just remember that it is about contributing value to people’s lives
  • Start investing and don’t be scared. Make use of digital wealth managers and low-cost index funds
  • Do not lust after material things – it is just rubbish that empties your bank account and kills the planet
  • Buy experiences instead – much more satisfying

And the main thing: whatever you choose to do, remember that life is for living with joy.

How do you engage with your readership?
I mainly write aiming to educate and entertain. Sometimes I make videos, but Hollywood is not on the cards!

I also talk to my readers on Facebook and Twitter and I always respond to emails.

What makes your blog successful?
Honesty. This is something I learned from my martial arts practice.

Honesty not only tells my readers that I’m fallible just like them; it also makes me think about things much more deeply so I become better.

How do you like to work with PRs?
I suppose the key is in mutual respect. Here honesty rules again – I only work with brands I love.

What’s the one thing all PR pros should know about you?
No messing about, no ego, no bullsh*t. Just value!

What other blogs do you read?
I read many blogs and am always on the lookout for new ones. I have preference for blogs that focus on big issues in personal finance like paying off debt, money management and investing. I regularly read: Budgets are Sexy, Listen Money Matters, Reach Financial Independence, Monevator, Rockstar Finance (which has very good curating), and Miss Thrifty.

 

Maria and her blog The Money Principle are both listed on the Vuelio Influencer Database, which is the UK’s leading influencer database available to the PR and communications industries.

Sovastock

Autumn Budget speculation 2017

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The Autumn Budget will be delivered on 22 November. While the exact content remains a secret until then, there are a few areas where the Chancellor is likely to make bold moves.

This is the second budget of the year, after the Chancellor scrapped the Spring Budget to have one, simpler, fiscal event in autumn. As the last budget was only eight months ago, this will likely be more stripped back than usual; but with Brexit on the horizon and a weak election to recover from, there’s still a lot of ground for the Chancellor to cover. Here are the Vuelio Political Team’s predictions of what will be in the Autumn Budget 2017.

 

First Time Buyers
It is expected that Philip Hammond will target first time buyers in the budget with a reduction in stamp duty. This kind of move would prove popular with young people looking to get on the housing ladder, but disappoint the wider market as it would only apply to first time buyers. A move such as this would have the biggest impact in London where the cost of living and property is higher than across the rest of the country.

 

Pensions
Hammond looks likely to make an announcement concerning pensions, and he has a few options to choose from. The most controversial move would be to make changes to the triple-lock on pensions; however given the DUP’s fondness of it, this looks unlikely. The Taylor Review suggested that the self-employed should be auto-enrolled onto a pension scheme through the self-assessment process, but the most likely change Spreadsheet Phil would make is reducing the annual pension contribution. If this change goes forward, it will hit very high earners the hardest, making it more politically palatable and easier to put before Parliament.

 

Investment schemes
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) – designed to attract investors to small UK companies – also looks likely to be targeted. The scheme provides up to 30% tax relief on investments of this kind which, while a useful funding source for high risk companies, has attracted criticism from those who believe it is used by wealthy individuals to avoid tax. Along with the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), EIS has been under review for the last year. It is likely that tax relief will be cut to 20% as a result of changes.

 

Student loans
The student loan shake-up was first announced at the Conservative Party Conference. Proposals include a tuition fee freeze at £9,250, and it is expected that the repayment threshold will increase from £21,000 to £25,000. Research from the Institute of Fiscal Studies shows that 77% of graduates do not repay their loan in full under the current system, and it estimate this will go up to 83% if this rise is put in place. The fact the Conservatives are considering the increase is testament to the threat of Corbyn.

While high interest rates on student loan repayments have been a toxic issue for the government, it seems Hammond has heeded calls to reconsider decreasing them. Meanwhile, it has also been reported that the Chancellor may force universities to use different pricing structures depending on the employment rate of each course.

 

Public Sector Pay cap
Hammond is under increasing pressure to lift the cap that has seen public sector pay limited to a 1% annual increase since 2013. Jeremy Hunt and Justine Greening are understood to be leading cross-departmental efforts to lobby the Chancellor to increase pay across all sectors, as he has done for the police and prison services. It looks likely that the budget will see the cap lifted, with the possibility of a staggered approach to offset costs, focusing on the shortest-staffed areas first.

 

Whisky tax
Back in March, the Chancellor used the Spring Budget to raise the excise duty on Scotch, leading to an increase of 36p per bottle. However, figures released by HMRC show one million fewer bottles were sold in the first half of 2017 than the year before, and the industry is now lobbying hard to see this tax hike reversed. Given that this move would also appease Conservative MSPs, this rumour will be worth keeping an eye on.

 

Business rates
With business rates expected to increase 4% next year, leading lobby groups have come together in a concerted effort to ensure the increase is put on hold in the Budget. The coalition, which includes the Confederation of British Industry, British Chambers of Commerce and Federation of Small Business, is arguing that a rise of this level could be the tipping point during an already uncertain time for business. It now looks likely that the planned rise will be scrapped and business rate increases will instead be aligned with the consumer price index.

 

Don’t want to miss anything from the Autumn Budget? Sign up to receive our comprehensive summaries of key policy announcements direct to your inbox.

Politics on Sunday – 12 November 2017

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Missed any of the political coverage from the weekend?

There was a reduced schedule this week in honour of Remembrance Sunday, but it was a busy Sunday for politics nonetheless.

Conservative stability was the topic of the week, as rumours circulate of 40 MPs ready to back a vote of no confidence in Theresa May: none of the Conservative MPs doing the rounds this week were keen to expand on this. After the comments made about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe at a Select Committee session last week, Boris Johnson’s future was also a talking point, with Sadiq Khan calling for his resignation while David Davis and Michael Gove both defended his actions.

On Paterson, the tables were turned against Labour as Peter Dowd was questioned over Jeremy Corbyn’s criticism of Boris Johnson, which the host referred to as ‘a bit rich’ given his past dealings with the Iranian Government. On Brexit, Sir James Dyson gave no-deal supporters something to smile about when he said ‘If you walk away, they will come to us’.

Check out our dedicated Canvas of political coverage by clicking here or on the image below. Want to make your own canvas? Find out how. 

Sunday Politics 12 November

 

 

Event

10 ways to get the most out of events

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Events are a big part of a PR pro’s life, both as a host and as an attendee. But how can you ensure you’re going to get the most out of an event? Whether it’s the Vuelio Blog Awards or a roundtable of five, here are 10 rules to follow so you can get the most out of any event.

1. Prepare
Check timings, the date and location to avoid missing out or accidentally turning up at a yoga class the week before. Make sure you know the dress code so you feel comfortable in your surroundings. And find out who else going so you can plan who in your team is best to attend – make sure they’re audience appropriate.

2. Set goals
Professionally speaking, this should extend beyond ‘getting boozed up and having a good time’. Do you have clients or contacts attending? Do you want to meet new people? A huge benefit of events is being able to put a face to a name and have real-life chats – something that is often lost in the social media age. Don’t know if someone is going? There’s no shame in asking people directly: ‘will I see you at the Vuelio Blog Awards next week?’ (Of course you will!).  And if you’re a sponsor or host, make sure you’re monitoring event terms in association with your brand, both online and in print.

3. Plan your entrance (and exit)
Do you know your route to the event and the means that will get you there on time? Traffic, public transport delays and even slow tourists blocking your path while pointing at St Paul’s cathedral, can make the difference between attending the drinks reception (and all that valuable networking time) and just missing out. And when the event is over, how are you getting back to the office or home? A daytime exhibition is easier to manage but an evening awards? No one wants to be stranded at 1am.

4. Don’t be afraid to network
Meeting new people, meeting old friends, laughing, joking and enjoying the company of others is why you’re at the event. It doesn’t matter if you’re hosting and you feel like you’re running around like a headless chicken, you still need to make time to stop and chat. Don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone new. Start with, ‘hello’ and follow it up with: ‘What brings you here?’

5. Don’t just hang out with old friends
Sometimes you don’t have networking fear because you already have your buddies with you. Maybe you’re attending with colleagues, maybe you’ve planned to meet contacts on arrival, but you’ll get more value out of new connections and conversations. So, if you’re in a group and someone is alone next to you, bring them into the conversation. Chances are they’re trying to find people to talk to and the more welcoming you are, the better it’ll be for everyone.

6. Relax when it comes to sales
No one is going to be impressed with the salesperson of the year, hitting as many contacts as possible while pressing business cards into hands as they shake. Good networking takes time to know your new contact: talk about them, what do they do, why they’re at the event and share the same info about yourself. Talk about your product or service only if it naturally occurs in the conversation, and business cards are reserved for people that will want to talk to you again. If it’s an awards ceremony, you can contact finalists beforehand and wish them good luck – and then the winners afterwards, especially if you’re a sponsor!

7. Remember you’re still at work
It’s 10.30pm, you’ve had wine with dinner, the dance floor is open and the bars are flowing. It can be easy to forget that you’re still at work, and you still represent your company so should be acting accordingly. Being professional doesn’t mean you have to be a buzzkill, but maybe save the Karate Kid and/or Tina Turner performances for when your professional reputation is not on the line.

8. Follow up afterwards
For event organisers this starts with a survey; mention it at the event and send it a few times so you get as much feedback as possible. If you’re an attendee, don’t let the business cards you’ve collected go to waste – follow each one up with an email saying how excellent it was to meet the individual and then bring in the ‘sales chat’ with what you do and how you could help them. If you spoke to someone about a specific feature, make sure you note it at the time so you can easily follow up.

9. Analyse your goals
Maybe the event was a branding exercise or lead generation. Has your monitoring revealed an upswing in coverage and mentions? Do your key influencers know more about you? Have you made contacts you can now reach out to without a generic email? Present all the benefits back to the bosses, whether that’s a Canvas of the event (like this one we made for the PRWeek Awards) or a presentation of your media analysis.

10. Plan the next
Plan your attendance as far in advance as you can, maybe this means putting sponsorship in the budget or perhaps there is an early bird rate on tickets. Either way, talk to the team that went and work out how next year can be even bigger and better for you.

 

What rules do you follow when you attend events? let us know in the comments below.

Vuelio Brexit Bulletin, 10 November 2017

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As the sixth round of Brexit negotiations conclude this week, we bring you the latest news, developments and stakeholder reaction in our Brexit Bulletin.  After a week which was noticeably light on negotiation meetings, there has been no announcement of major progress, leaving leaders with little time to reach agreement before the December summit of EU leaders.

  • Labour utilised an obscure power to compel the Government to give its Brexit impact assessments to the House of Commons Exiting the European Union Committee. However, Brexit ministers have cast doubt on the nature of the assessments, saying that time will be required to pull together the necessary material and warning that publication in full would not be in the national interest.
  • At the CBI’s conference, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross outlined the changes in regulations needed to secure a trade deal between the UK and the USA, while insisting on the importance of maintaining ‘passporting’ rights for financial services. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn each outlined their Brexit vision.
  • The Government will amend the EU Withdrawal Bill to specify the date and time of the UK’s departure from the EU, Theresa May has announced. The Government has also introduced its new Trade Bill to the Commons, with the Customs Bill to follow.

 

Want the full bulletin? Sign up to Vuelio Political Updates here. 

Alex Salmond

Five Things You Shouldn’t Have Missed – 10 November 2017

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The latest PR, media and comms stories including the battle of the Christmas ads, Twitter’s increase in character, Sky News’ future, Vogue’s new look and Alex Salmond on RT.

 

1. Advertising is beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Christmas ads

Aldi, Lidl and Argos broke cover early, with Aldi an increasing Christmas ad contender with its Kevin the Carrot sequel. M&S were next, for the first time using the John Lewis template but associating with the Paddington movie to make people feel festive – they’ll have a Paddington store to pull in fans of the Paddington 2 film.

Today John Lewis has released Moz the Monster from under the bed. The advert has already delighted and confused audiences across the nation, dividing opinions on Twitter. The fact it is under so much scrutiny shows its place both in the Christmas advert season and people’s festive celebrations generally.

Sainsbury’s and other brands are expected to launch their own Christmas ads this weekend.

 

2. Twitter’s 280 characters

Twitter bird

It’s a big one. Twitter has doubled the limit of everyone’s tweets so users now have 280 characters to play with. While it’s a struggle for most people to currently reach it, the platform is slowly getting used to longer messages (for better or worse). Whether this allows people to use better grammar and express themselves more clearly or if it is going to double the length of hate and ignorance remains to be seen.

Check out our guide of how to tell if you’ve used all 280 characters, and some of the best examples of brands using it, here.

 

3. Sky News under threat

Sky News

It’s been a big week for 21st Century Fox: the business trying to buy out the rest of Sky was revealed this week to be holding talks about a sale of some of its business to Disney; a Saudi prince, and Murdoch ally, sold his stake in the company; and then Sky explained if the Fox takeover doesn’t go through, the future of Sky News will be reviewed. The Competition and Markets Authority is currently reviewing Fox’s £11.7bn bid for Sky and this threat was setting the CMA straight (after it expressed an assumption Sky News would continue regardless).

The CMA is due to publish its findings in December.

 

4. Vogue’s December issue

British Vogue December

British Vogue’s new editor-in-chief Edward Enninful’s first edition of the magazine is the December issue. Published this week, the cover features Adwoa Aboah styled by Enninful himself. Enninful explained his Vogue is about being inclusive and about diversity – featuring ‘all different colours, shapes, ages, genders, religions’.

 

5. Alex Salmond on Russia Today

Alex Salmond

Former SNP leader and first minister of Scotland Alex Salmond will appear in his own political talk show on the Russian state-backed channel Russia Today. Airing on Thursdays, the show is reported to include guests from business, political and entertainment backgrounds.

Salmond said: ‘Of course, the show will have a sharp focus on politics, but I am not interested in catching people out but in finding out much more about the personalities which lie behind their public positions. My view is that the viewer will gain far more information and entertainment from a relaxed, informal style which allows them to express their point of view.’

Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said Salmond was, ‘a former first minister who fancies himself as the Michael Parkinson of Putin’s propaganda channel’.

 

How was your week in media, comms and PR? Let us know in the comments below:

Politics

Today’s Political Headlines – 10 November 2017

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A round-up of the latest political headlines, including Penny Mordaunt’s appointment, the Brexit date, Northern Ireland’s status in the customs union and David Cameron’s lobbying. 

Penny Mordaunt appointed as International Development Secretary
Penny Mordaunt, previously minister for disabled people, has been appointed as the new International Development Secretary, following Priti Patel’s resignation. The Times says the appointment keeps the balance between leave and remain supporters in the cabinet, and suggests that it was a ‘consolation prize’ after Mordaunt emerged as a front-runner for the post of Defence Secretary last week.

 

European Commission calls for Northern Ireland to remain in customs union
The Daily Telegraph and the Financial Times break the story that a European Commission document shows that Ireland wants ‘concrete reassurance’ on the issue of the Irish border before the next EU leaders’ summit in December. It appears to require that the UK remains in a customs union with the EU, or that Northern Ireland has a special status and remains in a customs union, creating a trade border between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland. A negotiator quoted in the Financial Times described Ireland’s stance as a ‘wild card’ factor.

 

Brexit date to be set in law
Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Theresa May has announced an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill, setting the date and time of the UK’s departure from the European Union as March 29, 2019 at 11pm GMT. Looking ahead to the next stage of the bill’s scrutiny in the House of Commons, she promises to listen to MPs who suggest improvements.

 

Budget news: Hammond refuses to loosen the purse springs, plans NHS spending increase and taxes on diesel cars
According to the Daily Mail, the Chancellor is refusing release billions of pounds for investment and won’t compromise on plans to eliminate the budget deficit by 2025, causing frustration for the Prime Minister. The Times reports that Hammond is planning to include more funding for the NHS in the budget. It says that the Chancellor is considering both ‘a cash injection’ and a pay boost for frontline workers. The Financial Times says that higher taxes will be placed on sales of new diesel vehicles, either by increasing VAT or creating a new levy.

 

Calls for cabinet reshuffle, amid ‘fierce debate’ in Downing Street
A story in The Guardian claims that senior figures in the Conservative party are calling for a ‘bold reshuffle’ of Theresa May’s cabinet, arguing that a ‘new generation’ of Conservative MPs need to be promoted. Others, including civil servants and whips, are warning that this might cause instability.

 

David Cameron lobbied China over planned investment fund
The Times reveals that David Cameron discussed a ‘UK-China fund’ being set up by figures including Lord Chadlington, a Conservative peer, with Chinese vice-premier Ma Kai during a visit to the country. If the fund is set up, the paper reports that Cameron is considering taking a role. As the fund does not currently exist, he did not need to seek official clearance.

 

Carwyn Jones may face investigation over handling of harassment allegations
The Guardian says that Carwyn Jones, the Welsh First Minister, may face an investigation over his handling of the allegations against Carl Sargeant, who was found dead after being sacked last week. Separately, The Daily Telegraph reports that John Bercow, the Commons speaker, has said that Charlie Elphicke, the suspended Tory MP, should be given the details of the allegations against him.

 

Metropolitan police chief calls for tougher sentences for young offenders
The Daily Mail carries remarks made by Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, in which she called for tougher sentences for young offenders, which would ‘actually deter people’. She was speaking to the Howard league for Penal Reform, whose Chief Executive, Frances Crook said that ‘it is unusual for a police officer to comment on areas outside their expertise, like sentencing’.

 

Want to learn more about the Vuelio political services?